Chapter 372

Chapter 372: Chapter 372

Diagon Alley.

Since the last Death Eater attack, this busiest street in the Wizarding World had been shrouded beneath a lingering dark cloud.

The traces of that attack still had not been completely erased.

On the walls lining both sides of the street, scorched marks remained where flames had licked across the stone, like ugly scars.

On the cobblestone road, although the craters blasted open by Explosion Charms had been repaired, the newly patched stones were lighter in color than the older ones around them.

They sat piece by piece among the dark-gray cobbles like patches sewn onto an old garment.

A large number of shops had their doors tightly shut.

Stores that once opened from morning until night without ever closing now began shutting their doors one after another in the afternoon.

Their window shutters had been nailed tight, and notices from the Ministry of Magic were posted on their doors.

"In case of suspicious circumstances, please contact the Auror Office immediately."

Some shops had not opened at all.

"Closed" signs hung from their doors beneath a layer of dust, making it look as though they had been there for a long time.

The walls were plastered with countless Death Eater wanted posters.

One after another.

Dense and crowded.

Like psoriasis spreading across the walls.

The hooded faces on the posters twisted, sneered, and waved their wands from within the paper.

Against the dusty walls, the black-and-white images looked particularly glaring.

Even the Wizards passing through the street hurried along with tense expressions.

No one lingered at shop windows.

No one chatted at the corners like before.

Everyone walked with lowered heads, moving quickly. Occasionally, someone would stop, but only to hurriedly buy what they needed from a shop that had not yet closed before leaving immediately.

The entire alley was permeated by a bleak, panicked atmosphere.

Yet amid this eerie tension, an entirely different kind of liveliness suddenly erupted along the southern stretch of Diagon Alley.

Whoosh—pop!

Whoosh—pop!

Whoosh—pop!

One firework after another exploded overhead, firmly drawing everyone’s attention.

After bursting in the sky, they did not simply scatter into balls of light.

Instead, they transformed into all kinds of strange patterns.

Some became enormous laughing noses.

Some became dancing skeletons.

Others became dragon heads breathing fire.

Every shape was brightly colored and exaggerated, appearing especially striking against the gray sky.

The sound of the fireworks echoed throughout Diagon Alley in wave after wave, breaking the deathly silence that had haunted the street for far too long.

Looking toward the source of the fireworks, the storefront of a brand-new shop completely shattered the gloom of Diagon Alley.

The front of the shop was painted bright yellow, while the doorframes and window frames were painted vivid red.

The red and yellow intertwined, making the storefront resemble a burning flame from afar.

The display window was packed with all kinds of magical candies and toys.

At the entrance of the newly opened shop stood a moving long-faced doll.

It wore the same bright-yellow uniform as the storefront, along with a tall top hat.

The doll lifted its hat, revealing a moving rabbit perched atop its head.

The rabbit poked its head out, waved a tiny paw at the passersby, and then ducked back into the hat.

Fred and George stood at the entrance, both dressed in identical bright-yellow Wizard robes.

The words Weasley’s Wizard Wheezes were printed across their chests.

Both of them wore irrepressible, radiant smiles, completely untouched by the tense atmosphere outside.

George—or perhaps it was Fred—held a tray of miniature magical-candy samples and enthusiastically handed them out to the gathering crowd.

"Dear Wizard friends! Grand opening! All samples are free!"

His voice was loud and clear, easily drowning out the noise on the street.

"Skiving Snackboxes, Nosebleed Nougat, Fever Fudge—we have everything!"

"Try before you buy! If it doesn’t taste good, it’s free!"

Fred stood beside him with his wand in hand, waving it casually.

Sparks burst from its tip, shooting into the sky before exploding into colorful clusters of light.

The lights formed the words:

GRAND OPENING

The words hung in the air for several seconds before slowly fading.

Then they turned into countless tiny specks of light, streaking through the sky like meteors as they drifted downward.

Many Wizards who had originally been rushing along the street were drawn in by the lively atmosphere and entered the twins’ shop almost without realizing it.

Some were attracted by the colorful candies.

Some by the strange toys.

Others did not even intend to buy anything. They simply wanted to temporarily forget the oppression outside amid the fireworks and laughter.

Lynn, Edgar, and the others were walking through Diagon Alley when their attention was inevitably drawn by the commotion.

They had originally come to buy new textbooks for the coming school year.

Although Flourish and Blotts was open, the shop had been deserted, with only a few customers inside.

Lynn had already bought the books he needed and was preparing to leave when he heard the fireworks.

Edgar was the first to stop.

He raised his head and looked at the fading specks of light still drifting through the sky, his mouth slightly open.

"Is that... the Weasley family’s shop?" he asked uncertainly.

"It should be." William pushed up his glasses and squinted toward the bright-yellow storefront in the distance. "I remember Fred and George saying that they wanted to open the shop before school started."

"Let’s go take a look," Lynn said.

They crossed the street and walked toward the mass of yellow.

The closer they got, the more people there were.

By the time they reached the entrance, they had to turn sideways to squeeze through the crowd.

Fred was the first to spot Lynn.

His eyes lit up.

He squeezed through the crowd and threw an arm around Lynn’s shoulder.

"Congratulations on making a fortune, Mr. Weasley," Lynn said with a smile in his voice.

The moment they heard that, Fred and George flashed cheeky grins.

"How is it?" Fred spread his arms as though presenting a rare treasure. "Our joke shop looks pretty good, right?"

Lynn looked up at the bright-yellow storefront.

Then he looked at the dazzling selection in the display window.

Finally, he looked at the customers inside, who were tasting samples, trying out products, and playing with the various items.

He nodded honestly.

"Not bad."

"More than not bad," Edgar added. "This is simply... too cool."

He pointed toward a magical doll in the display window that was doing somersaults on its own.

William and Ollie nodded as well.

William’s gaze swept across the store’s layout and product displays. He pushed up his glasses.

"The customer flow design is good. Shoppers can see all the products by walking through the store once."

"The displays also have strong layering. New products are placed in the most prominent positions, while best-sellers are placed in the areas with the highest foot traffic."

George paused for a moment.

"Customer flow design?"

"It’s the route customers take while walking through the shop," William explained.

George paused again.

Then he turned to look at Fred.

Fred was already looking at him.

The two stared at each other for a second before shaking their heads in unison.

"We just put things wherever," Fred said.

"Really," George added. "We put them wherever there was an empty spot. If there wasn’t enough room, we piled them together."

William’s expression froze.

Lynn watched the look on William’s face—a complete inability to understand how this could possibly work—and could not help laughing.

"Speaking of which..." Lynn changed the subject. "Didn’t you rent a storefront in Hogsmeade? How did you end up opening the shop in Diagon Alley?"

Fred and George sighed at the same time.

"When we were renting the shop," Fred began, his voice carrying the helplessness of a long story, "we didn’t expect the owner to be Karkaroff."

Lynn’s eyebrows rose slightly.

"Karkaroff?" Edgar’s voice jumped several octaves. "Why would he appear in Hogsmeade? Shouldn’t he be—"

"Should be what?" George glanced at him.

"Nothing." Edgar shut his mouth.

George did not press him for an answer and continued.

"Anyway, after the Ministry of Magic investigated, they determined that our lease agreement was invalid."

"Because Karkaroff did not sign the contract under his own identity, it had no legal effect."

Fred took over.

"So we couldn’t rent that shop. Fortunately, we had looked at quite a few other locations before, and this was one of the backups."

"Although the rent is a bit expensive, the location is good, the foot traffic is high, and—"

He pointed toward the bright-yellow storefront above them.

"This street needs a little color."

Lynn nodded, showing that he understood.

"So we changed to another shop," Fred concluded.

The twins led the group inside.

The interior was far larger than it had appeared from outside.

It was probably the effect of an Undetectable Extension Charm.

Shelves stood in rows, each packed with all kinds of merchandise.

Some items glowed.

Some emitted smoke.

Some made strange noises.

Many children and young people were trying the novelties sold in the joke shop, including some things Lynn had never even seen at Hogwarts.

Edgar was drawn to a display case.

Inside were several strange little objects.

Some laughed constantly.

Some cried constantly.

Others spun in place and could not stop no matter what.

He leaned closer to read the label.

The Never-Ending Spinning Top.

William was drawn to another display case.

Inside were several pamphlets with flashy covers.

How to Learn Invisibility in One Week

How to Make Everyone Like You

How to Pass O.W.L.s Without Studying

Ollie stood before a different display case, looking down at a doll inside that looked exactly like him.

The doll wore the same dark coat as Ollie.

It wore the same glasses.

Even the expression on its face was identical to Ollie’s—utterly blank.

Just as Lynn and the others were aimlessly wandering through the joke shop, a special notification tone suddenly rang from Lynn’s pocket.

It was the alert he had specifically set for messages from Lucius Malfoy.

Lynn took out his Magic Phone and looked at the screen.

[Platinum Gentleman]: A team of Death Eaters is heading toward Diagon Alley.

Lynn’s gaze lingered on the screen for a moment before he looked down again.

[Platinum Gentleman]: Target: Weasley’s Wizard Wheezes.

Lynn looked at that line and suddenly smiled.

Wasn’t this a coincidence?

He did not even need to change his position.

Wouldn’t it be perfect to simply wait for the rabbit to run into the trap?

Thinking of this, Lynn’s smile widened.

Then he looked toward Edgar and the others nearby.

The punching bags to test the results of their recent training...

Weren’t they arriving right now?

A chill ran down Edgar’s spine beneath Lynn’s gaze.

He subconsciously took half a step back, his hand already moving toward the wand in his pocket.

"What kind of look is that?" he asked, his voice a little shaky.

Lynn did not answer.

He merely smiled, patted Edgar on the shoulder, then turned and walked toward Fred and George.

"Fred," Lynn said as he stood before the cashier. "George."

The two looked up at him at the same time.

"What’s wrong?"

"Nothing," Lynn said. "Just a reminder."

"There may be a few customers who don’t understand the rules coming by later."

"You don’t need to worry about it."

"Just leave it to me."

Fred and George exchanged a look.

"What kind of customers?"

Lynn only smiled.

He did not answer.

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